


A Date to Remember

by 1010nabulation



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte
Genre: Fluff, Holding Hands, Holidays, Kissing, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-31
Updated: 2010-12-31
Packaged: 2017-10-14 07:00:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/146640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1010nabulation/pseuds/1010nabulation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tajima and Hanai go out for a day on the town on Christmas Eve, and it turns out to be a date to remember for many reasons!</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Date to Remember

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hyakuiro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyakuiro/gifts).



> To my lovely recipient, hyakuiro, very happy holiday wishes! I hope you like your gift as much as I enjoyed writing it! <3
> 
> Many thanks to my amazing beta, paperwar! (I take full credit for any remaining mistakes or mess-ups whatsoever, though, heh.)

“How about this one?” Tajima pulled an orange and yellow knit beanie off the rack and held it up, a grin on his face.

“I don’t know… it’s a little bright, isn’t it?” Hanai said, looking uneasily at the hat. “And it’s got tassels dangling from it.”

“You tie those under your chin so the hat doesn’t fall off.  It’s got to have tassels!” Tajima insisted.  All the best winter hats had tassels, and besides, they made it so much easier to pull Hanai down for a kiss whenever he wanted one.  In fact, Tajima was willing to get Hanai any hat he wanted so long as it included nice, long tassels. “This one?”

Hanai shook his head, yanking the soft pink rabbit-eared beanie out of his hands and putting it on the highest hook, well out of the shorter boy’s reach. “No way!”

“But the floppy ears would be so cute on you--”

“NO.” Hanai’s cheeks were heating as pink as that hat had been. “Why do you want to get me a hat for Christmas, anyway?  I thought you said you were done shopping.”

Tajima shrugged at Hanai from the other side of the hat rack. “Well, it’s cold out today and you didn’t even wear a head scarf.  And it’s not like you’ve got any hair to keep your head warm, so you need a hat!  I have another present for you for later, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried!  And I don’t need a hat; my head’s fine,” Hanai protested, only half as annoyed as he sounded.  He really hadn’t anticipated it being this cold for their day out on the town, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t handle a little chill.  Still, he poked around in the hat selection with a little more attention.  He liked having Tajima care about his well-being.  Not that he’d ever admit that out loud. “This one’s not bad.”

It was a cream, blue, and gray knit beanie with a big blue ball on top and long cream tassels.  Feeling a little self-conscious, Hanai pulled it onto his head. “Maybe if I cut off the ball on top…”

“But I like that part!” Tajima said.  Coming to stand in front of Hanai, he looked up and gazed seriously at the other boy.  Reaching up, he took hold of the hat’s tassels and abruptly pulled Hanai down until they were face to face. 

“W-what!  Tajima, let go!  We can’t—not here!” Hanai hissed, struggling awkwardly to stand up out of Tajima’s grip.  He knew exactly what the other boy was about to do.  Oh, god, he could feel Tajima’s breath on his face.  Much as he liked kissing (and getting kissed by) Tajima, he still felt profoundly embarrassed about doing anything like that in front of other people, much less in the middle of a crowded store on Christmas Eve.

“It’s perfect,” Tajima said, playfully giving Hanai a peck on the cheek before letting him go. 

Damn Tajima for being such a tease.  Straightening up, Hanai quickly pulled the cap off his head and stuffed it into Tajima’s hands, then looked away blushing hard.  “Get it, then.”

Hat purchased and snugly fitted back onto Hanai’s head, the two walked out of the shop hand in hand, Tajima pulling Hanai along animatedly.  His hand was so warm, Hanai thought.  It made his stomach do little flips to be this close to him.  A little pang went through him at the thought that this might be their last Christmas together.  They’d be taking their university entrance exams soon, and who knew where they’d each end up.  Despite his abysmal grades, Tajima had been cramming like crazy to get into one of the Tokyo Big 6 schools.  Hanai would be surprised if he didn’t get in on a baseball scholarship even if his exam score was a little low.  It was probably too much to hope that they’d both get accepted to the same school, though.  _Well_ , Hanai thought as he unconsciously gave Tajima’s hand a squeeze, _whatever happens, we’ll make today count_.

“Where do you want to go next?  Your choice this time, since I chose hat-finding,” Tajima said.  He swung their clasped hands, trying to lighten the mood having noticed Hanai’s increased grip and determined look on his face. 

For a moment, Hanai considered their options.  They didn’t often have a whole day together in Tokyo like this.  “Let’s go ice skating.”  He’d never been before, but the idea of having a legitimate excuse to hold Tajima’s hand in public without having to feel embarrassed about it (like he did even now) was quite appealing.  It was kind of romantic, too, he thought, skating together under the open sky.  And it was something active they could do together.  Tajima should like that.

“Hey, that’s a good idea!  I’ve always wanted to try that.  Should be just like roller skating, right?  Only more slippery I guess.  Do you think that means you’ll go faster?…” Tajima continued to chatter brightly as they made their way to the outdoor ice rink in Akasaka Sacas.

When they got there it was quite a bit more crowded than Hanai had thought it might be.  Along with a bunch of other couples skating, there were a lot of children out on the ice.  Nonetheless, Tajima was excited. 

“I’ll race you!” he said, grinning from ear to ear as he finished tying his skates on and stood up.

Hanai moved unsteadily toward the entrance gate in his skates—they were a lot heavier than he’d expected—and looked uncertainly at Tajima.  He wasn’t too sure he liked the idea of racing when he’d never skated before in his life… but he also wasn’t one to turn down a chance to compete with Tajima.  Besides, neither of them had ever skated; Hanai wasn’t the only one.  They’d probably both end up on their asses and could have a good laugh over it.  “All right.  We’ll both get on the ice and start in the same spot.”

“And whoever makes one whole lap around the rink first wins!” Tajima declared. 

Getting on the ice was fairly easy.  It was slippery and the skates felt like lead weights on Hanai’s feet, but they both managed to make it into position easily enough.

“Okay… go!” Tajima yelled.  He wobbled a little at first, almost barreling into a little five-year-old girl, but found a rhythm easily enough after that. 

Hanai, on the other hand, had taken two strides forward before catching a skate in a choppy patch of ice and going down hard.  Rattled but determined, he got his lanky self up and stayed close to the wall, heart pounding.  He couldn’t let Tajima win so easily.  Damn him, he was already halfway around the rink!  Swallowing his nerves, Hanai pushed off of the wall and propelled himself forward to try and catch up.

And tripped over a little boy when he couldn’t get out of his path.  “Sorry, I’m sorry!” Hanai said as the kid got up and skated away like it was nothing, sticking his tongue out. 

Tajima skated up from behind, laughing. “This isn’t bowling, Hanai!  You don’t get any points for knocking kids over.”  He softened the jab by holding his hands out to help him up.

“Shut up,” Hanai muttered, trying to get up without any assistance.  Unfortunately, he was shaking too badly to manage it.  Gritting his teeth and swallowing his pride, he took hold of Tajima’s hands and allowed himself to be pulled up. 

“Man, your hands are freezing,” Tajima said when Hanai was upright again.  He squeezed Hanai’s hands, trying to transfer some of his warmth.  The action mollified Hanai, who relaxed a bit.

Only to tense again at the next words out of Tajima’s mouth, which were, “Hey, I have an idea.  What if we hold hands like this and I skate backwards and pull you?”

With a shake of his head, Hanai refused. “How are you going to see where you’re going?  I don’t want to hit anyone else!”

“You can be my eyes!” Tajima said, coaxing Hanai forward with their fingers intertwined. “Come on.  Just trust me.”

Hanai swallowed hard and nodded.  How could he refuse now?  It’d be like saying he didn’t trust Tajima, and he did, perhaps against his better judgment.  “Okay.  But go slow!”

Tajima laughingly agreed, and slowly began to move backwards, pulling Hanai somewhat unsteadily along.  Hanai’s directions worked surprisingly well, once they got their left from their right sorted (that detour into the wall didn’t count, Tajima insisted; Hanai should have said _his_ right).  They didn’t hit one other person, despite a few close calls (during which Hanai almost hyperventilated and Tajima just laughed).  After a while they even got into a pretty good rhythm; then they could concentrate less on not falling or running into things and more on the feel of each other’s hands and the expressions on each other’s faces.  Tajima’s cheeks were flushed pink from exertion and excitement, his eyes bright and steadily locked on Hanai’s face.  It made Hanai flush, a dopey smile on his face.  Ice skating had been a good idea after all.

“We make a good team, huh?” Tajima said as they slowed to a halt and finally tottered off the ice.

“Yeah,” Hanai agreed, an arm slung across Tajima’s shoulders. “Yeah, we do.”

After all the exercise and the late hour, they were both starving.  Hanai had wanted to take Tajima to a nice restaurant for a romantic dinner, but every place they tried to get into was booked solid for the night.  “I should have realized,” Hanai said, sulking as they walked through the busy streets. “It’s a big holiday.  Especially for couples.”

Tajima was silent for a moment, following along beside Hanai, hands in his pockets. “Don’t worry about it.  Let’s just get some dango from a street stand and eat it while the lights come on.  That’s romantic too, right?”

Hanai looked over at Tajima and had to smile at the earnest look on his face.  He’d wanted this day to be perfect, and at every turn Tajima was the one making it so.  “Yeah, I guess it is.”

Dango in hand, the pair settled on a bench huddled close.  Night was drawing in and the air was even chillier than it had been earlier in the day.  As they ate, the lights began to come on all around them, illuminating the leafless trees in twinkling blue and white.  “See?” Tajima said through a huge mouthful of food, “romantic.”

“Yeah, your spit all over me really makes it,” Hanai laughed, giving Tajima’s shoulder a shove with his own.

Tajima shoved back and leaned in to steal a piece of Hanai’s dango, biting it right off the stick.

“Hey!”

“Yours tastes better!”  Without apologizing, Tajima offered his own stick with one lonely piece left.

Hanai turned his head, frowning.  It was infuriatingly cute how Tajima knew just how far to push before letting up on the teasing. “You eat it.” 

Finished eating, Hanai reached into his bag.  It was finally time to give Tajima the gift he’d been working on making all year for him.  He was glad there weren’t many people around just then; the fewer people the better because this was going to be embarrassing enough as it was.  “Here.  Merry Christmas, Tajima.” 

No way could Tajima top his present this year.  Hanai thought he’d had him beat last year when he gave him a custom-made glove, but then Tajima went and gave him tickets to a Seibu Lions baseball game _and_ a Seibu Lions jersey personalized with his name and his Nishiura uniform number.  Apparently he’d saved up all year for that gift.  This year it was Hanai’s turn to wow Tajima.

Taking the brightly wrapped package, Tajima wasted no time in ripping into it.  Other people might carefully and respectfully remove the wrapping but that just wasn’t Tajima’s style.  The quicker he got to the good stuff, the better.

And it was _good_.  Underneath the wrapping was a rather nondescript-looking picture album, but the photos inside were anything but.  There were pictures of the two of them together.  Lots of them he recognized, but interspersed throughout were pictures of just Hanai.  Hanai in the club room without his shirt on.  Hanai wearing nothing at all and holding a precariously placed bat and a huge blush on his face.  Hanai in his bedroom wearing just his boxers.  Hanai in the shower.  Hanai on the beach slathered in sun oil.  And so many others… Tajima was biting his lip as he flipped through them all, loving the awkward pinkness of Hanai’s cheeks in almost every photo. 

“Wow, Hanai. This is the _hottest_ gift I’ve ever gotten, strictly!  Way better than anything in my entire porn collection!”  Tajima reached up and tugged on the tassels of Hanai’s hat, pulling him into a kiss before he could protest.

Trying to resist, Hanai spluttered and pulled back, giving Tajima a reproachful cuff on the head. “ _Not here_ ,” he said.  “And close that album; what if people see?!”

Tajima’s eyes sparkled mischievously but he did as asked and put the photo album into his bag.  “Now it’s my turn,” he said, holding out a small box to Hanai. “Open it!  Hurry!”

At first Hanai tried to be good and open the package carefully, but he soon gave in to Tajima’s urging and tore the paper off the box.  Inside was a new pair of batting gloves.  Hanai was about to thank Tajima when something else in the box caught his eye.  Something in the palm of the second glove, small and silver.  A ring.

“Is that… is that a…?” Hanai asked, anxiously picking the ring up between his fingers.

“A pairs ring!” Tajima supplied when Hanai’s voice failed him. “So no matter where we are, the girls, and guys I guess, will all know we’re taken.”

 _No matter where_ , Hanai thought, eyes flicking up to lock on Tajima’s.  He was serious.  _We’re taken._  Hanai’s mouth was open, heart in his throat, cheeks burning.

“Right, Hanai?  Do you like it?  My sister helped me pick the rings out.  The lady at the jewelry shop wouldn’t let me get two guys’ rings, but don’t worry, I gave the guy’s ring to you and I kept the smaller ring.  The girl’s ring, I guess.  It fits, though; I’ve been wearing it under my glove at practice!  It doesn’t get it the way at all, even when I’m batting.  So, um… is it okay?” Tajima was babbling, actually flustered by this.  Put him in a tense game situation and he was cool-headed and collected.  Put his heart in someone else’s hand and that composure was out the window.

“It’s perfect,” Hanai finally said, slipping the ring onto his finger.  A pairs ring.  A promise.  It made Hanai’s chest hurt, in a good way, to think that no matter where they ended up after high school they’d be together.  And everyone would know.

Without thought to the people that might be watching, Hanai leaned in and pulled Tajima close, barely hesitating before pressing their lips together.  It was awkward, their teeth bumping and bruising, breath puffing in clouds as they breathed together in the cold winter air, tongues sliding and pushing, testing, tasting.  As soon as Tajima realized Hanai wasn’t going to pull away almost immediately this time, he fisted his hands in Hanai’s coat and kissed eagerly, forgetting to breathe.  Hanai was just as eager, not holding back anymore, scraping his tongue on Tajima’s teeth and groaning softly as Tajima took his lower lip into his mouth and sucked on it.  Let all the world see.  He didn’t care anymore, not right now.

Until Tajima’s hands started wandering perilously close to his pants.

Frantically, Hanai captured Tajima’s wrists and held on, deepening the kiss one last time before pulling away. “I said not,” he panted, blushing hard again, “here.”

There was a smile on his face, though, warmed through and through.  Tajima was grinning too, fairly beaming more brightly than ever.

“I love you, you know,” Tajima said, serious despite the grin.

The smile on Hanai’s face turned soft and sappy at that, as earnest as Tajima as he nodded. “I love you too.”

For keeps.  No matter where life took them, Hanai was now sure beyond a doubt that they were playing for keeps.  And this would only be the first of many Christmases to come.

“Damn it, Tajima, your present to me was better than mine _again_!”


End file.
